I agree with Tamara, about treasuring one's first ribbons - I think my most prized one is my first ever 1st place at the Royal Melbourne Show - I found out I'd won when I was in the UK. Mum kindly sent me mail to the Springetts, which they "delivered" when I arrived for my class there. I think lot's of "strangers" shared in my excitement at my win :-) It's certainly the most memorable. On the flip side, I'm very proud of my HC from the Royal Easter Show, in Sydney, that I was awarded the one year I entered. As there were a large number of entries that year in that class (20 odd, I think?) it means a great deal to me that the Judge considered my workmanship to be that good.
I still don't have a blue ribbon from the Colorado State Fair, so that's my continued goal :-) (well, that and winning a Best in Show and an RMLG Dorothy Names Memorial Ribbon - which is trimmed with lace made by a member). Sigh.... Takes a fabulous piece to win either of those ribbons, so I have my work cut out for me - but I like to dream about it :-) For me, entering is a way of having my work examined by a fairly critical eye. If the Judges are kind enough to pen a few comments (positive and negative), I can learn from them, and hopefully improve. Entering can be a little awesome or intimidating - I don't think there are too many that have absolute confidence in their work in the face of a Judge's scrutiny - most of us tend to see the flaws in our work, and view our work with a somewhat jaundiced eye. But it should be seen as a fun thing to enter - you don't know how good the competition is (can vary from year to year) and you may surprise yourself :-) And some people just don't like to compete, and that's perfectly OK, but if you're holding back from entering for the sole reason that you don't think your work is good enough, I would encourage you to take the plunge and enter for the fun of it - you might be pleasantly surprised. And from a Judge's perspective - this year was a first for me at the State Fair: as it's open Judging, it was very nice to have some interested spectators view our Judging at times. For the novice class, I actually had to give our comments on the 3 entries to the audience - a little nerve wracking, but worth it, as the young lady who got 2nd in the class was there with her family, and she could hear from us directly, our thoughts on her work (it was a very nice effort from someone who's been doing needle tatting for less than 9 months) - and I hope we inspired/encouraged her to continue. I'll say no more now :-) Cheers, Helen, Aussie in Denver - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
